Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Another totally obscure band, Alakana, were a vehicle for the guitar talents of Danny Alkana. From the Acid Archives website: "This sought-after hard rock rarity was released in 1978, but sounds like an early 80's record. It has the kind of high vocals and streamlined lead guitar that would soon take over the mainstream hard rock world. The majority of this album is pretty standard macho flashy guitar stuff, better than most of its kind but nothing special unless you're a genre fan. What makes the album special is the 11-minute “The Tower,” an epic that incorporates everything that’s good about the genre: melodic guitar leads, a stunning chorus, a smooth shift from mellow to heavy after a few minutes of the song. It's a classic, and the rest of the album gains appeal by association with it. Pretty album cover, too. Danny Alkana was formerly with Cock Robin, a local band that at times featured Misunderstood legend Glenn Ross Campbell. He later had some success on the classical-inspired metal guitar circuit".

I have to disagree with some of that assessment, as I feel alot of the material here is not only good, but even fantastic. I do agree that the guitar work is decidedly 80's sounding, which makes this all the more interesting since it preceded the era by two years. "On Our Own" and "Freedom Lady" are two highlights that showcase Alkana's interesting melodies as well as inspired fretwork. I can only highly recommend you snap this one up ASAP and grow to appreciate the level of talent this fine album showcases from start to finish...

9 comments:

This is great stuff!."The Tower" is pure epic. What a song. Riminds a bit of the heavier 70's Queen. But the album has more great songs. "Head Games", "California Rock & Roll Queen", "Montezuma's Revenge" (sounds a bit like Mountain. Nice grrooove)Thanks !

Excellent stuff all 3 new posts Ronnie, but the favourite is ofcourse Alkana. Didn't know they where around until i found the revue at Lysergia, put them on my wantlist and found it a few years ago. And i also agree with you when you say this is a killer, it should have got more attention back in the days.

From one thing to another, here are 3 links for you. I went thru my old CDR's and found what i hope you still both need and search.

Damned, i'm sorry if i blew your expectations Ronnie but i didn't know that there was an US Bandit - Same from '75 floating around. I sure do hope that someone will respond to your "cry for help" so to speak as i'm getting very keen to hear this myself now.

Oh absolutely not, Orchman. I've been seeking BOTH of the different Bandits! All of your contributions have been fantastic & I sincerely appreciate all of your posts here. Not at all let down, friend :)

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